Ghana’s young athlete Godfred Opoku finished 4th with a time of 45.46s and narrowly missed the chance to be on the podium in the Men’s 400 metres final at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon of the United States.
Opoku, who recently completed Okomfo Anokye SHS in Kumasi, began the competition on a wonderful note as he won Heat 1 by producing a time of 46.05s, and then improved it to 45.91s in the Semifinal 2 race which propelled him to finish in 3rd place. This performance was enough for him to book an automatic qualification in the final of the Men’s 400m on Friday morning.
However, amid his improved performance in the final, he could only watch on as his dream of becoming a medalist slip away having finished just one place out of the medal zone, narrowly behind South Africa’s Leendert Koekemoer, who made a time of 44.96s.
United States of America duo of Jayden Deleon and Quincy Wilson snatched the gold and silver medals with a country’s record of 44.47s and seasonal best 44.62 respectively. Wilson, in particular, became the youngest male American track and field Olympian in history when he won a gold medal in the 4x400m relay at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at age 16, therefore, he is used to the limelight.
Meanwhile, in the female event, Aishatu Jaffar aka Odo Broni, finished 7th in Heat 4 of the Women’s 400m Round 1 with a time of 56.39s. The results meant she exited from the competition in the early stages and would have to improve her performance to make a comeback next year if she still deemed qualified.
